American jurist who served as an associate justice of the U.S. Supreme Court (1916-1939). His opposition to monopolies and defense of individual human rights formed the basis of many of his high court decisions.

From The Columbia EncyclopediaAssociate Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court (1994–), b. San Francisco. A graduate of Stanford and Oxford universities and of Harvard Law School (1964), he clerked (1964–65) for Supreme Court Justice Arthur Goldberg, then worked for the Justice Dept. and as chief counsel to the Senate Judiciary Committee.

US jurist, chief justice of the US Supreme Court 1969-86. Appointed to the court by President Richard Nixon because of his conservative views, Burger showed himself to be pragmatic and liberal on some social issues, including abortion and desegregation.

American public official and jurist, 6th Chief Justice of the United States (1864–73), b. Cornish, N.H. Admitted to the bar in 1829, he defended runaway blacks so often that he became known as "attorney general for fugitive slaves."

From The Columbia EncyclopediaAssociate Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court (1993–), b. Brooklyn, N.Y. A graduate (1954) of Cornell Univ., she attended Harvard Law School, then transferred to Columbia Law School, graduating in 1959.

From The Hutchinson Unabridged EncyclopediaUS jurist, appointed associate justice of the US Supreme Court in 1988. A conservative, he wrote the majority opinion in Washington v. Harper (1990) that the administration of medication for mentally ill prisoners, without the prisoner's consent, is permissible.

US Supreme Court associate justice 1972-86, and chief justice from 1986. Under his leadership the court established a reputation for conservative rulings on such issues as abortion and capital punishment.

From The Columbia EncyclopediaAmerican public official, chief justice of the U.S. Supreme Court (2005–) b. Buffalo, N.Y., grad. Harvard (B.A. 1976, J.D. 1979). He clerked (1980–81) for Supreme Court Justice William Rehnquist before serving in the Reagan administration as special assistant to the attorney general (1981–82) and associate counsel to the president (1982–86).

From The Columbia EncyclopediaAssociate Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court (1986–), b. Trenton, N.J. He graduated from Harvard Law School (1960) and subsequently taught law at the Univ. of Virginia (1967–71) and the Univ. of Chicago (1977–82).

From The Hutchinson Unabridged EncyclopediaUS Supreme Court associate justice from 1990. A former attorney general of New Hampshire 1976-78, he was nominated to the court by President George H W Bush in 1990.

From The Hutchinson Unabridged EncyclopediaUS Supreme Court associate justice from 1975, nominated by President Gerald Ford. His opinions and dissents have been wide ranging, taking the view that the death penalty is not by definition cruel and unusual punishment in Jurek v. Texas (1976), and that the burning of the US flag in protest is unconstitutional in Texas v. Johnson.

From Culture Wars: An Encyclopedia of Issues, Viewpoints, and VoicesThe fourteenth chief justice of the United States (1953–1969), Earl Warren became a lightning rod in the culture wars for the controversial decisions issued by the Supreme Court during his tenure.

Jurists & Legal Philosophers

From The Columbia EncyclopediaAmerican political figure, b. Chicago, grad. Yale Univ. (B.A., 1964), Univ. of Chicago School of Law (J.D., 1967). A conservative Republican, Ashcroft was Missouri state auditor (1975–76) and attorney general (1976–85) before being twice elected to the post of governor (1985–93).

Political leader and orator, born in Salem, Illinois, USA. After practising law, he was elected to the US House of Representatives (Democrat, 1891–5) and began to develop his reputation as the Great Commoner, using his oratorical skills on behalf of the causes of ordinary folk.

American jurist, Associate Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court (1932–38), b. New York City. Educated at Columbia Univ., he practiced law until he was elected (1913) to the New York supreme court. Cardozo was then appointed (1914) to the court of appeals, elected (1917) for a 14-year term, and elected (1927) chief judge of the court, which, largely through his influence, gained international fame.

American jurist, Associate Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court (1862–77), b. Cecil co., Md., grad. Kenyon College, 1832; cousin of Henry Winter Davis. In 1836 he settled as a lawyer in Bloomington, Ill., his home thereafter.

from The Columbia EncyclopediaAmerican government official, b. San Antonio, Tex. After serving in the Air Force (1973–75), he attended the Air Force Academy and graduated from Rice Univ. (B.A., 1979) and Harvard Law School (J.D., 1982). He was in private practice in Texas until he was named general counsel to Texas governor George W. Bush in 1994.

American politician who served as U.S. attorney general (1961-1964) during the presidency of his brother John F. Kennedy. He was elected to the Senate (1964) and was campaigning for the presidency when he was assassinated in Los Angeles.

American jurist, b. near Brewster, N.Y. He was admitted to the bar in 1785 and began practice in Poughkeepsie, N. Y. Active in the Federalist party, he served several terms in the New York legislature.

U.S. Secretary of State (1915–20), b. Watertown, N.Y. An authority in the field of international law, he founded the American Journal of International Law in 1907 and remained an editor of it until his death.

From The Columbia EncyclopediaAmerican jurist, b. Bronx, N.Y., grad. Columbia (A.B., 1963), Yale Law School (LL.B., 1967). After being in private practice (1967–72), he was appointed assistant U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York in 1972 and served (1975–76) as chief of its official corruption unit.

From World of Criminal JusticeJanet Reno served as U.S. attorney general in President Bill Clinton’s administration, from February 1993 until January 2001. Reno, who became the first women to hold this office, previously served as a state prosecutor.

US attorney and judge. Starr's role as independent counsel in charge of the Whitewater investigation led to the impeachment of US president Bill Clinton on 19 December 1998, after Starr expanded his investigation in January 1998 to include allegations of an affair between President Clinton and White House intern Monica Lewinsky.

American jurist, Associate Justice of the Supreme Court (1811–45), b. Marblehead, Mass. Admitted to the Massachusetts bar in 1801, he practiced law in Salem and was several times elected to the Massachusetts legislature.